Baseball

FAYETTEVILLE – UNCP rallied for four runs behind Shawn Bumgarner’s fourth quality start of the season, but had to hold off a late-inning rally to complete its season sweep of visiting Coker on a 4-2 victory Wednesday evening at Sammy Cox Field.

UNCP (26-18) pounded out seven hits, including two apiece from both Jason Morales and Ryan Gathman, in the victory and won for just the fourth time this season when being outhit by its opponent. Having collected just three combined hits in two previous meetings with the Braves this season, Coker registered nine hits on Wednesday, including two hits from both Trey Lynch and Ricky Deleandro.

Bumgarner (6-1) tallied his team-best sixth win of the season after scattering five hits and a trio of strikeouts over seven innings of work, with Ryan Kirkman picking up his ninth save of the campaign despite allowing four hits in the eighth and ninth innings combined. Brad Boob (3-9) saddled the tough luck loss for the Cobras despite yielding just three hits and one earned run in five innings from the hill.

Kirkman, who picked up his school record eighth save of the season on Monday against Georgia Southwestern, has allowed just two earned runs over his last21-2/3 innings of work. It was the third-straight victory for Bumgarner and his second of the season against Coker.

UNCP utilized a pair of hits and one costly throwing error by Boob to plate a run in the third, and then stretched its lead out to 3-0 on Edmond Locklear’s solo homer in the fourth and Jason Coker’s suicide squeeze bunt in the seventh that plated pinch runner Justin Osborne.

Coker used Lynch’s RBI double in the eighth to slice into the lead, but UNCP answered with a run of its own in the bottom of the frame on a run-scoring double by Morales. The Cobras put together another rally in the ninth, scoring a run with its first two at-bats of the inning, but Kirkman struck out B.K. Harfst and Preston Ford on three pitches apiece to ice the final.

UNCP will return to action again on Thursday when the Braves head to Murfreesboro to take on Chowan (20-12) in a 3 p.m. first pitch at the CU Baseball Complex. The Braves posted a three-game weekend sweep of the Hawks earlier this season in Pembroke.

The Cobras will close out their regular season schedule this weekend they host Conference Carolina foe Barton (26-24, 10-11 Conference Carolinas) in a three-game set at Tom J. New Field.

FAYETTEVILLE – UNCP rallied for four runs behind Shawn Bumgarner’s fourth quality start of the season, but had to hold off a late-inning rally to complete its season sweep of visiting Coker on a 4-2 victory Wednesday evening at Sammy Cox Field.

UNCP (26-18) pounded out seven hits, including two apiece from both Jason Morales and Ryan Gathman, in the victory and won for just the fourth time this season when being outhit by its opponent. Having collected just three combined hits in two previous meetings with the Braves this season, Coker registered nine hits on Wednesday, including two hits from both Trey Lynch and Ricky Deleandro.

Bumgarner (6-1) tallied his team-best sixth win of the season after scattering five hits and a trio of strikeouts over seven innings of work, with Ryan Kirkman picking up his ninth save of the campaign despite allowing four hits in the eighth and ninth innings combined. Brad Boob (3-9) saddled the tough luck loss for the Cobras despite yielding just three hits and one earned run in five innings from the hill.

Kirkman, who picked up his school record eighth save of the season on Monday against Georgia Southwestern, has allowed just two earned runs over his last

21-2/3 innings of work. It was the third-straight victory for Bumgarner and his second of the season against Coker.

UNCP utilized a pair of hits and one costly throwing error by Boob to plate a run in the third, and then stretched its lead out to 3-0 on Edmond Locklear’s solo homer in the fourth and Jason Coker’s suicide squeeze bunt in the seventh that plated pinch runner Justin Osborne.

Coker used Lynch’s RBI double in the eighth to slice into the lead, but UNCP answered with a run of its own in the bottom of the frame on a run-scoring double by Morales. The Cobras put together another rally in the ninth, scoring a run with its first two at-bats of the inning, but Kirkman struck out B.K.

Harfst and Preston Ford on three pitches apiece to ice the final.

UNCP will return to action again on Thursday when the Braves head to Murfreesboro to take on Chowan (20-12) in a 3 p.m. first pitch at the CU Baseball Complex. The Braves posted a three-game weekend sweep of the Hawks earlier this season in Pembroke.

The Cobras will close out their regular season schedule this weekend they host Conference Carolina foe Barton (26-24, 10-11 Conference Carolinas) in a three-game set at Tom J. New Field.